Creating Wealth

by Gwendolyn Hallsmith & Bernard Lietaer

Growing local economies with local currencies

The underlying assumptions, frameworks, and institutions of our economy often go unquestioned, and one of the least understood pieces of the economic puzzle is money itself. Money and currency are critical leverage points for a sustainable local economy, and city leaders can do a lot to direct resources and initiatives that will enhance the quality of life in their communities by developing new forms of exchange. Beyond money and currency lies the role of capital; the book also explores the wide array of capital that communities need to build: natural, social, human, institutional, cultural, built, technological, financial, and others to shepherd the power of the economy to the service of a healthy, vibrant, and sustainable society.

“I dare consider this is the single most important reflection in economics since Adam Smith”.

Dr. Samir Ghabbour, University of Cairo, Chairman, Egyptian National Committee for the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB)

“Two masters have come together to create an instant classic. Few can hold a candle to Gwendolyn Hallsmith when it comes to a systems approach that enables communities to vision a different future. Bernard Lietaer as an originator of the Euro is without peer when it comes to both the theory and practice of expanding the possibilities by creating new currencies. Together, they share a commitment to renewing cities and creating a sustainable world for all endangered species — including our own. This is a book that provides framework, theory, examples galore and tools. Get it. Use it. For us at TimeBanking and for our law school course in System Change, this is required reading”.

“Not since Natural Capitalism has a book offered new ways for wealth to be created; it’s a must read for city counselors, local politicians, business people and everyone who wants a vibrant economy without destroying the planet in the processs”.

Harry Blutstein, Founder, The Lighthouse Bureau, Northcote, Australia

About the authors

Gwendolyn Hallsmith is the Director of Global Community Initiatives, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustainable development, and has been a leader in the sustainable communities movement for more than fifteen years. She is the author of The Key to Sustainable Cities: Meeting Human Needs, Transforming Community Systems from New Society Publishers, and she has extensive experience working with communities to identify ways in which they can achieve their objectives for better governance, sustainable economic development, and a healthy environment.

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“We fear scarcity, the sense that there is never going to be enough for everyone. The sense of scarcity has driven human competition since the dawn of civilization—for water, for hunting territory, for women, for land. On Spaceship Earth, scarcity is a fact of life. Fossil fuels are increasingly scarce, along with sweet water, rainforests, precious metals and fine jewels. Other things will always be scarce—good pitching arms, original Rembrandts, Cliff Walk properties in Newport, operatic sopranos, true genius. When there are a lot of people who want very scarce things, the value of the scarce resource goes up relative to other resources—this is simple supply and demand economics.”